Mohan Dharia | CoopPeople | CoopWiki

Association and Role within Society or Entity: Founder and President of the environmental NGO Vanrai; Union Minister for Commerce and Civil Supplies; and Patron of the National Federation of Fishermen's Cooperatives.
Contributions to the Cooperative Sector: Working in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, Dharia transformed thousands of hectares of degraded, barren land through the establishment of agro-forestry and water-harvesting cooperatives. He linked eco-conservation directly with dairy and agricultural marketing cooperatives.
His model demonstrated that micro-watershed development programs, managed democratically by local water-user cooperatives, could reverse severe rural poverty and drought cycles. By placing natural resource management in the hands of village collectives, he created sustainable livelihoods that mitigated rural-to-urban distress migration.
Awards and Recognitions: Conferred the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian honor, in 2005 for his social work, environmental leadership, and innovative cooperative development models.